Centered Ministries

Bible Study Methods – Part 1

Why do we need to study the Word of God?

Paul writes Timothy (2 Tim. 3:15-17) that there are two main reasons why believers must study the Scriptures:

1. To know Jesus Christ and receive his salvation (v.15),
2. To help us grow spiritually that we might get equipped for whatever God wants us to do (v.17).

In one dispute with the Sadducees, Jesus proclaimed, “You are in error because you do not know the Scripture or the power of God” (Matt. 22:29).

“People get off base doctrinally because they know neither their Bibles nor the power of God.”

With the current rise and popularity of cults, false teachings, and non-biblical philosophies, it is absolutely imperative that we Christians be grounded in the Word of God, so we are enabled to discern error from truth.

Principles of Bible Study

There are several methods of Bible study, but all of them have five foundational principles:

1. Ask the right kinds of questions of the biblical text. Apply these important questions to the passage that you are studying: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
   Read the immediate context, the whole chapter, or book to gain answers to these questions.  The tools listed below will help you in this.
2. Write down what you have observed and discovered. Bible study is different than Bible reading! If you don’t write down your observations, you haven’t really thought about them.
3. The ultimate goal of Bible study is application, not interpretation. Dwight Moody said, “The Bible was not given only to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.”
4. The Bible must be studied in a systematic way. We must stay away from a “buffet-style” approach, or hopping through the books of the Bible.
5. No Bible student will ever exhaust all the riches of any given passage in the Scripture. God is infinite, and so is His Word: infinite in depth, height, and width, and always fresh in taste!

Preparing for Bible Study

1. Schedule Your Bible Study. If you don’t put study in your weekly schedule, you will never make time for it.
2. Use a Notebook. Bible study requires you to write down your observations.
3. Get the Right Tools. A serious Bible student must acquire a few “tool of the trade” – consider making an investment in these reference tools– you will be able to use them for a long time.
4. Start Your Bible Study With Prayer. Pray for forgiveness and then, for a fresh filling with the Holy Spirit, as He is our Teacher (John 14:26; 16:13).  (119:18)

Bible Study Tools

• A Study Bible. They provide introductions to each books, notes on each verse, charts, maps etc.  The NIV or ESV versions are excellent choices.
• An Exhaustive Concordance. This important tool is a Bible index of the words contained in a specific Bible version and lists every usage of every word in the Bible and gives all the references where that word appears.
• A Bible Dictionary. Explains words, customs, and traditions in the Bible, and provides historical, geographical, cultural, and archeological information.  Ex: Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, or The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (4 Volumes).
• A Topical Bible. Categorizes the verses of the Bible by topics.  Ex: NIV Naves Topical Bible.
• A Bible Handbook. Gives background notes, a brief commentary, and includes maps, charts, outlines, key words and verses.  Ex: Halley’s Bible Handbook or Talk Thru The Bible.
• Commentaries. These are scholarly collections of explanatory notes and interpretations on the text of a particular Bible book or section. They should not be consulted only after you have done your own Bible study!
• Electronic Resources:  net.bible.org; eSword.com; biblegateway.com

To Be Continued.

Fee, Gordon, and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Duvall, Scott J., and J. Daniel Hays. Grasping God’s Word. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.

Hill, Andrew E., and John H. Walton. A Survey of the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

Carson, D.A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.

ESV Study Bible. Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2008.